Holed up
by wolfypuppypiles
Summary: Written for a prompt sent to me on tumblr: How about a MacGyver fic where Mac and Jack are trapped somewhere. Mac is injured, and Jack has to talk to him the whole time while they're waiting to be rescued to keep him awake and his mind off the pain.


(lol the title is a pun cause theyre holed up in the house and also mac has a bullet hole in his side lol im so funny anyway because I'm a terrible person this took MONTHS to fill. Many months. So, I hope whoever sent it knows how sorry I am and hopefully everyone likes this)

Jack cursed again as he pressed harder on Mac's side, in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He looked back up to the kids face when he hissed in pain, and apologized for the hundredth time.

"Sorry, sorry, but I have to get this bleeding stopped."

Mac panted, teeth clenched shut against the pain. "It's okay."

But it wasn't okay, not really. Because there was a certain way they did things, and Mac getting hurt was not supposed to be one of them. In every mission they went on, no matter how dangerous, Mac was always supposed to find a way out. Because he was still a kid, because he was a hero, because Jack couldn't stand to lose him.

The older agent pressed a hand to his ear, voice harsh and worried as he spoke to the rest of the team back at headquarters.

"We need an evac, right now! He's not going to be walking out of here; we can't make it to our ride."

Mattie would usually tell him off for yelling at her like that, but she was just as worried as he was, and she remained patient with him.

"That's going to take a little time, Dolton. We can't get anyone in there to help until the storm passes, you're just going to have to wait a while."

Jack's voice cracked as he yelled once more. "Dammit, Mattie, he's bleeding out!"

Mac coughed, scrunching his eyes shut against the pain as his chest rattled horribly. He'd been shot a few times before, and it just wasn't something you got used to. But he knew that he'd be okay because Jack was there, and Jack always had his back.

He lifted a hand to the one Jack had pressed to his side. "It's okay, we'll…ugh, we'll figure it out."

They'd been trying to retrieve stolen information, from some cyber terrorists, and although they'd successfully recovered the data, Mac had been shot in the process and the criminals had gotten away.

Jack didn't care about the mission, he only cared about his friend, and at present his friend was bleeding out in the dirt. He'd never been good at handling Mac getting hurt, it made him panic and freak out and he couldn't think of anything but saving his team mate.

Mac coughed again and groaned in pain, body shaking under Jacks blood slick hands. He needed to get him off the ground, and somewhere safe. They couldn't stay out in the street, especially not if a storm was headed straight for them.

He blinked through his wet eyes and looked around, spotting the cyber terrorists abandoned hide out. He turned back to the kid on the ground.

"Okay, I'm going to get you inside that house, and it's going to hurt to move but we have to. So, just hold on to me and let me do all the work okay?"

Mac nodded. He didn't want to move at all, even laying still hurt and he didn't want to think about how much it would hurt to stand or walk, but Jack was right, it had to be done.

Jack offered one last apology before carefully gathering the younger agent in his arms. He took the kids arm around his shoulder and pressed the other to the wound. He wrapped his own arm around Mac's waist and got to his feet, dragging poor Mac with him.

The kid was tough but having a bullet stuck inside you hurts like hell, and he let out a series of whimpers and curses as he tried to stay on his feet as they made their way to the house.

Riley's voice came through the coms just as Jack managed to get Mac onto a couch, she sounded scared. "Mac? Are you going to be okay?"

Jack looked down at the blonde, his eyes were tightly shut against the pain and he was struggling to get a decent breath in. He wouldn't be answering Riley's question anytime soon. Jack tried to sound as if he wasn't losing his mind with worry.

"He'll be okay, Ri. I'll take care of him, don't you worry."

First thing to do would be…stop the bleeding and keep Mac warm. It was really hard to concentrate with your best friend's blood all over your hands, but unfortunately it wasn't the first time Jack had done this for a friend.

He had spent too many nights washing the younger agents blood from his hands, or waiting for him to wake up, the incessant beeping of the heart monitor driving him mad. He had done it before, but god, it never got easy.

He always managed to convince himself it would never happen again, that he would protect him; but now Mac was just another name on the list of people he let down.

Mac panted beneath him, and Jack hated it, but he needed to leave for just a second.

"Mac, stay awake okay? I have to go get supplies, but I'll be back, I promise."

The genius barely managed a nod, and although Jack was thoroughly worried, he had to leave anyway.

The agent pulled Macs hands up to the wadded-up shirt over his side, hating the wet squelch it made when he pressed those weak hands down onto it.

"Hold that tight, kid. Keep pressure on it."

Mac's fingers curled a little, into the makeshift bandages, as his eyes blinked sluggishly. Jack sighed; it would have to do. "Good enough."

Jacks feet hesitated as he went to leave, because Mac was already looking like he was going to pass out, and he knew that if those eyes closed, they may never open again.

"Mac, I always forget how the table of elements goes, can you sing it to me again?"

In reality, Jack could almost manage it, he'd heard it so many times, but Mac had always liked singing it to himself when he needed a distraction, and it would mean Jack could keep him awake and hear him wherever he went in the small hide-out.

Mac blinked at him, smiling a little. "I love that song."

Jack smiled and tapped his coms. "I know you do buddy, and Riley and I would really love to hear it. Right, Riley?"

Riley quickly answered, sounding amused, which Jack was grateful for. He hated hearing her worry.

"Uhh yeah, I'd love to hear it, Mac."

Jack moved to the doorway. "You start singing, and I'll look for some supplies but I'll be listening, okay?"

Mac's words were slower than usual but the kid still had his giant brain working as he started singing.

"There's antimony, arsenic, aluminium, selenium. And, hydrogen, and oxygen, and nitrogen, and rhenium."

Jack smiled a little to himself as Mac continued, as he looked through the house for anything he could use. It had been used as a temporary hide out for the cyber terrorists, so there wasn't much to work with. He wished he could just get the kid to a hospital, but since they were operating on foreign soil without permission, that would be a no go.

He found some duct tape, and a few clothes, but not much else. Mac fumbled over a word and stopped singing.

"And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germainimom…haha I said mom."

Jack smiled, unable to help himself when Riley started laughing through the coms, and called out to their wounded team mate. "Keep going, Mac! I still can't remember them all!"

"Umm…Oh germanium. And Iron, americium, ruthenium, europium, zirconium, lutetium-"

Jack went into another room as he shook his head to himself. "Damn, how many are there."

Riley's voice was that amused warm, that let him know she was smiling smugly, with just a hint of love. "One hundred and eighteen."

"Jesus."

Mac let out a giggle. "Jesus is not an element, Jack."

The older agent laughed, and picked up a bundle of blankets from a pile of the hackers abandoned things.

"I know that! Keep singing, Mackie, I'm sorry for interrupting your little talent show."

The singing continued, as Jack searched the rest of the rooms.

"-Vanadium, and lanthanum, and osmium, and astatine, and radium, and gold, protactinium, and indium and gallium."

When he'd found all he could, he came back to where Mac was laying on the couch, head leant back and singing. From the amount of blood, he'd lost, Jack was surprised Mac could say all the complicated words, let alone remember them. But then, who else could remember something so ridiculous in such a serious situation.

He smiled when he saw him, but it quickly turned into a frown as he saw Mac's side. The kid could remember the entirety of the elemental table, but had forgotten to keep pressure on the bullet wound he was bleeding out from. He quickly dumped the stuff he'd found and rushed to the kid's side, pressing a fresh towel to the wound.

"Mac! You were supposed to press on this, what happened to the plan, my man?"

The blonde looked up at him, then down at his side, lifting his hand to look at the blood dripping from it.

"It wouldn't stop, anyway. And it hurt to push on it."

Jack was trying to keep calm as his forehead creased in concern. "I know, but it's important okay? I gotta keep pressure on this but I need my hands free to take care of you so, look what I got."

He kept one hand on Mac's side, holding the towel over the already soaking shirt, while he picked up one of his dropped supplies and held it up for the other man to see.

"Duct tape! Your favourite."

Mac smiled, as he watched Jack use it to tape the compresses to his side. "I love duct tape. Did you know NASA has stored it on board every mission since the early Gemini era? Because it was used to save the Apollo 13?"

Jack frowned as he concentrated on his work, wincing in sympathy as Mac let out a small grunt of pain. "Yep, I do know that because you've told me a hundred times. You've also told me that it was first invented to solve issues the military had with bullet storage, and everyone called it duck tape at first."

Mac smiled and patted Jacks shoulder with a clumsy hand. "Hey, you do listen to me."

"Most of what you say is dorky science nonsense, but when you say something enough times, I can't help but remember it."

Mac frowned a little bit, as Jack secured the duct tape and towel. It wasn't great, but again, it would have to do.

"S'not nonsense Jack. It's science, and that makes it cool."

Jack reached back to his supplies, picking up a water bottle. "Whatever you say, little man. You want something to drink?"

"No." Mac went to wipe his eyes, but Jack stopped him before he could smear blood all over himself, wiping the kids hand on an extra towel.

"Well, too bad, you need to keep your fluids up, you know that. Here."

He handed the bottle to him, frowning when Mac pushed it away before it even got to his mouth.

"Mac, drink it!"

The kid shook his head, tired eyes just a little amused. "No, Jack that's not water."

The agent frowned, but brought it to his nose and sniffed it, quickly pulling it away. "Woah, that it is not. Those hackers really liked to party. This house has barely anything in it, but Vodka they have?"

He took a quick swig from the bottle, making a face at the strong spirits. "Damn, that's definitely the cheap stuff, but it'll kill germs either way."

Matty spoke up from the coms, reminding Jack that she was still listening in. "And what exactly was the purpose of trying it, Jack?"

"Well, boss, what if it was something else? What if it was nail polish remover or-"

Mac narrowed his eyes. "If it was you'd be throwing up. Also, did you know that acetone poisoning makes you have a 'fruity' odour? Isn't that weird?"

Jack frowned and began unravelling the duct tape and bandages from Mac's side. "Yes, Angus that is very weird, and really unhelpful right now. I'm gonna clean this out, and it's going to really hurt, so hold my arm really tight okay? Think about something that'll keep you calm and happy while I do this."

Mac obediently took Jacks arm, loosely holding his bicep as he thought. "Hmmm, my motorbike. Or the elements song. I really like that song."

Jack didn't want to remove the bandages and risk more bleeding, but he didn't want to risk infection either, and since they were using anything but bandages, that likelihood was high. He needed to do it, but it really was going to suck.

"Just pick one and focus on it. Try to hold still. I'm sorry man, here goes."

The bandages were peeled back, revealing the bullet wound and causing blood to flow down his side quicker; and then Jack poured the vodka over it.

Mac screamed in pain, before grinding his teeth and trying to muffle the sound. His hand squeezed Jacks arm so tight his knuckles turned white, and Jack could feel the bruises forming.

Jack winced but kept going, making sure it was properly flushed out, trying to hold the kid down with his one free arm.

"Almost finished, Mac…There, breathe. All done." He pulled the bottle away and set it doused the crappy, homemade bandages they were using, before setting the bottle down on the floor and tying the compress back to Mac's side.

"Shouldn't be any bugs in it now, but I don't want to take any chances with infections, so I'm gonna keep a close eye on you okay? Hey, breathe."

Mac was panting, eyes closed as he rode the waves of exhaustion and pain that came after something like that. He stopped squeezing Jack's arm but didn't let go, only opening his eyes when he felt Jacks hand across his forehead.

"You feel a little cold, probably from the blood loss, but at least it's not a fever."

He went to stand, only to be stopped by Mac's and on his arm, tugging him back down. Jack looked to Macs face, those big eyes asking what he couldn't say out loud. _Don't leave me._

Jack patted his hand and knelt beside him again. "It's okay, I aint leaving ya, I'm just getting a blanket and some actual water."

Mac slowly released his arm, but closely watched him as he moved back to his supplies pile, grabbing a blanket and another water bottle.

He shook the worn quilt over the kid, tucking his feet in and pulling it high up on his chest, before grabbing the bottle and taking a little sip.

"Yeah, this one's water."

He gave the bottle to the other agent, watching him carefully until he was satisfied he'd had enough.

Once he was done, Jack sat on the ground, next to the couch, and turned to his friend as Mac took his arm again. His tone was tired, and made him sound younger, more vulnerable.

"It hurts."

Jack sighed, and patted his hand, taking his fingers, and squeezing them gently. He wouldn't admit to holding his hand, but that's what it was.

"I know, we'll get you home soon."

Riley spoke this time, a little worried but trying to reassure. "Storms passing overhead, looks like it missed you completely. Medevac should be there in thirty minutes."

Jack cursed softly, because he didn't know if they had that long. Mac had lost too much blood already and he couldn't afford to lose any more; but he knew they were all doing their best, and it certainly wasn't Riley's fault they couldn't get there faster. He swallowed his frustration and managed to keep his voice level.

"Thanks, that's good. You hear that Mac? You'll be feeling better soon. We'll get you on those good drugs and you can sleep the whole ride home."

Mac relaxed into the couch, and turned his hand in Jack's grip so they were properly holding hands. Jack had cleaned Mac's hands, but not his own, and the blood stained the blondes skin once more.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Jack. You're the best."

Mac's eyes were full of more words, bigger ones, that would definitely make Jack cry. He squeezed the kids hand and smiled.

"No problem. You know I'll always be here for you, Mackie."

It was a nice moment, until Riley's voice came through again. "You guys are adorable, but why can't you just say, 'I love you' and get it over with? We're all family, it's not weird."

Jack rolled his eyes and held a finger to his earpiece. "Shut up, Ri, he knows I love him."

He didn't turn to look at him, but saw Mac smile out the corner of his vision. "Love you too, Jack."

"I love you guys too!" Jack frowned, confused, at the voice coming through the coms.

"Bozer? When did you get here?"

The happy voice came back, making Mac smile at the sound of his friend. "Just now, when you guys started being all adorable. What did I miss?"

Mac and Jack were picked up twenty-five minutes later, and Jack stayed with his partner the whole way. Cause even though they got into some trouble, and maybe had some minor issues with saying how they really felt, they'd always be family, and always have each other's back.

(AN:please tell me what you think this took so long and also come talk to me about the new season yo theres only about five people on tumblr that watch it (thats not a joke literally about five if that))


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